Случай Чарльза Декстера Варда
Chapter 2
Curwencontinuedtobeavoidedanddistrusted,asindeedtheonefactofhiscontinuedairofyouthatagreatagewouldhavebeenenoughtowarrant;andhecouldseethatintheendhisfortuneswouldbelikelytosuffer.Hiselaboratestudiesandexperiments,whatevertheymayhavebeen,apparentlyrequiredaheavyincomefortheirmaintenance;andsinceachangeofenvironmentwoulddeprivehimofthetradingadvantageshehadgained,itwouldnothaveprofitedhimtobeginanewinadifferentregionjustthen.JudgmentdemandedthathepatchuphisrelationswiththetownsfolkofProvidence,sothathispresencemightnolongerbeasignalforhushedconversation,transparentexcusesorerrandselsewhere,andageneralatmosphereofconstraintanduneasiness.Hisclerks,beingnowreducedtotheshiftlessandimpecuniousresiduewhomnooneelsewouldemploy,weregivinghimmuchworry;andheheldtohissea-captainsandmatesonlybyshrewdnessingainingsomekindofascendancyoverthem—amortgage,apromissorynote,orabitofinformationverypertinenttotheirwelfare.Inmanycases,diaristshaverecordedwithsomeawe,Curwenshowedalmostthepowerofawizardinunearthingfamilysecretsforquestionableuse.Duringthefinalfiveyearsofhislifeitseemedasthoughonlydirecttalkswiththelong-deadcouldpossiblyhavefurnishedsomeofthedatawhichhehadsogliblyathistongue’send.
Aboutthistimethecraftyscholarhituponalastdesperateexpedienttoregainhisfootinginthecommunity.
